The Iranian Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that the Covid-19 pandemic claimed the lives of 452 Iranians in the past 24 hours since Tuesday, bringing the death toll since the pandemic began in February 2020 so far to 115,619 people. Meanwhile, the statement said that 19,732 new cases of the contagious disease were detected, bringing the total detected cases to 5,360,387. -Mehr 9/15/21

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that the country is facing no red lines in importing coronavirus vaccines, even Pfizer and Moderna. "Of course, the health ministry has always been the sole authorized and eligible source for approving the vaccines which are allowed to be imported, and the foreign affairs ministry has used all its facilities towards this goal," Khatibzadeh said speaking at his weekly press briefing on Monday. -Tehran Times 9/14/21

In a statement on Friday, the Iranian Health Ministry put the death toll from the novel coronavirus in Iran at 113,380, saying the disease has taken the lives of 445 patients over the past 24 hours. The number of people tested positive for COVID-19 infection in Iran has exceeded 5,258,913 following the detection of 21,114 new cases since Thursday, the ministry said. -Mehr 9/10/21

A total of 40.29 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines in 46 shipments were imported via Imam Khomeini International Airport from Feb. 3 to Sept. 5, 2021, according to the latest announcement of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration. According to this report, 648,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines were imported on Sept. 4, along with 5 million doses of Sinopharm on Sept. 5. -Financial Tribune 9/6/21

Ten activists have signed a letter addressed to the United Nations demanding that the organization take measures to help Iran's ongoing Covid-19 crisis, including requiring Iran to import the vaccine. Among the signatories are filmmakers Jafar Panahi ("3 Faces," "This Is Not a Film") and Mohammad Rasoulof ("There Is No Evil"), as well as documentarian Mohammad Nourizad. -IndieWire 8/31/21

Iran wrestles with record infection and mortality rates and officials worry that a new variant could come in on the heels of the Delta variant, which has been ravaging the country. -Al Monitor 8/27/21

World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Iran Jaffar Hussain has announced that three million doses of vaccine will be delivered soon to the country under the COVAX facility. The COVAX Facility is a partnership, co-led by Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi-The Vaccine Alliance, and the WHO, alongside key delivery partner United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). -Tehran Times 8/26/21

Iran on Tuesday reported a record daily 709 deaths from COVID-19 as the worst-hit country in the Middle East faced a fifth surge in infections led by the highly contagious Delta variant. The health ministry said the total number of cases had reached 4.75 million with 40,623 new infections over the past 24 hours. Total fatalities rose to 103,357, state TV reported. -Reuters 8/25/21

The newly elected Iranian government led by President Ebrahim Raisi is facing demands to broaden its sources of vaccines as the country becomes engulfed by its fifth and most deadly wave of Covid-19. The supply of vaccines is said to be close to exhausted in Isfahan and Tabriz, as well as provinces including Gilan, Khuzestan and Mazandaran. -Guardian 8/24/21

Iran's health ministry has reported more than 680 daily coronavirus deaths for the first time, as nationwide restrictions to contain the spread of the virus were lifted. The ministry said on Sunday the deaths of 684 people in the past 24 hours brought the total number of fatalities to 102,038. Iran also registered 36,419 new infections, raising the total since the pandemic started to 4,677,114. -AFP 8/23/21

Negotiation is underway with one or two European countries to purchase Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines, Alireza Raisi, the spokesman for the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control, has said. Referring to good efforts made to import vaccines, he said: "By the end of September, we will definitely import about 30 million doses of vaccine. With another memorandum of understanding from October, we will receive another 30 million doses. -Tehran Times 8/23/21

MEMO freelance columnist Mahan Abedin died of coronavirus in Iran on Friday night at the age of 45. The Iranian-born British journalist and author tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, Press TV reported. -MEMO 8/23/21

A coalition of major Iranian American organizations today called on the Biden administration to expand its global COVID-19 vaccine donation campaign to Iran. Iran currently holds the 10th highest COVID mortality rate in the world and has had five waves of the pandemic since January 2020. The country continues to report the highest infection and death numbers in the Middle East, with experts inside and outside the country arguing that Iran's real numbers are much higher. 8/20/21

Iranian authorities' prohibition on procuring US- and UK-produced vaccines, lack of transparency, and mismanagement are exacerbating the already dire impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in Iran, Human Rights Watch said today. Iran is experiencing a "fifth wave" in the pandemic with a daily death toll of at least 655 and a total of almost 100,000 deaths as of August 18 based on the government's official statistics. -HRW 8/20/21

Iran's death toll from COVID-19 exceeded 100,000 on Thursday with 564 fatalities recorded in the past 24 hours, state TV said, as the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus spread through the Middle East's worst-hit country. -Reuters 8/19/21

Iran's national task force for fighting COVID-19 has ordered all jobs categorized as unnecessary to be closed as there has been a huge surge in new cases and deaths in the country. The closures began on Monday, August 16, and will continue until 21 August in all cities of Iran. -ISNA 8/18/21

Nature talks to vaccine developer Kayhan Azadmanesh about efforts in Iran to develop ten or more COVID jabs, two of which have been approved for use. Iran was among the first countries to be hit with an outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020. It is currently battling its fifth wave, likely driven by the Delta variant. Official figures suggest that more than 4.3 million people have been infected and 97,000 have died since the pandemic began, but the true toll is potentially much higher. -Nature 8/17/21

In January, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the sudden announcement that American and British-made COVID-19 vaccines would be "forbidden" as they were "completely untrustworthy." Almost nine months later, Iran is facing its worst surge in the virus to date - a record number of deaths and infections per day with nearly 4.2 million COVID-19 patients across the country, and a healthcare system near collapse. -Tara Kangarlou, TIME 8/16/21

Iran says it will impose a six-day-long "general lockdown" in cities across the country after being hit by what it describes as its fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, state media reported Saturday. The lockdown includes all bazaars, markets and public offices, as well as movie theaters, gyms and restaurants in all Iranian cities. -AP 8/16/21

The Delta variant of the coronavirus has overwhelmed the country, which has been reeling from the pandemic since it began, presenting a stark test for its new hard-line president. -Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times 8/13/21

Forty-seven years later, Helen Sabzevari is CEO of Precigen, a biopharmaceutical company developing cutting edge treatments for a number of different diseases, including type 1 diabetes and certain forms of cancer. It's here that Sabzevari, 59, is bringing her lifetime of experience in cancer research to realize a vision of immunotherapies that are both more effective and easier to scale than what's on the market now. -Forbes 8/12/21

Ayatollah Khamanei banned US and UK vaccine imports in January. However, in a televised speech on Wednesday, with the country now experiencing a fifth wave coronavirus infections, Khamenei indicated a potential change in heart with the onset of the more transmissible delta variant. -Guy Davies, ABC 8/12/21

Iranians are suffering through yet another surge in the coronavirus pandemic - their country's worst yet - and anger is growing at images of vaccinated Westerners without face masks on the internet or on TV while they remain unable to get the shots. Iran, like much of the world, remains far behind countries like the United States in vaccinating its public, with only 3 million of its more than 80 million people having received both vaccine doses. -AP 8/11/21

As Hassan Rouhani spent his final days in office as Iran's president earlier this month, his administration hailed its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. On 1 August, Rouhani and government health officials held their last meeting at the National Headquarters to Combat Coronavirus. "The promises we made to vaccinate all elderly people and high-risk groups are now coming true," Rouhani declared. -MEE 8/11/21

Iran's Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) has announced new travel restrictions to the Islamic Republic, banning visitors from coronavirus hotspots in a bid to keep the highly transmissible Delta variant at bay. On Sunday, Mohammad Hassan Zibakhsh, the CAO spokesman said that all flights to and from Brazil and Uruguay have been suspended due to the latest decision of the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control. -Tehran Times 8/10/21

Iran reported over 500 daily Covid deaths for the first time on Sunday, its health ministry announced, as new infections also hit a record high. Iran registered 39,619 new infections in the 24 hours to Sunday, taking the total since the pandemic started to 4,158,729, the ministry said. During that same period it recorded 542 deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 94,015, it added. -AFP 8/9/21

The number of reported coronavirus cases in Iran surpassed 4 million on August 4 amid a vicious wave of infections driven by the highly contagious delta variant. Iran registered 39,357 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total since the pandemic started to 4,019,084, the Health Ministry said. It recorded 409 deaths over the same period, bringing the official death toll to 92,194. 8/5/21

Iran on Monday reported more than 37,000 new coronavirus infections, the country's single-day record so far in the pandemic, state media reported. State TV said health workers registered 37,189 new COVID-19 cases since Sunday - surpassing the previous daily record of 34,951 infections reported on Tuesday. Also, there were 411 deaths, bringing the country's total death toll in the pandemic to 91,407 - the highest in the Middle East. -AP 8/3/21

Iran's health minister has called for two weeks of lockdowns enforced by armed forces and law enforcement to curb the alarmingly fast rise of COVID-19 cases across the country. Saeed Namaki, who will likely be replaced after Ebrahim Raisi is inaugurated as the next president on Thursday, made the request in a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that was also widely published by Iranian media on Sunday. -Al Jazeera 8/2/21

Iran inaugurated on Tuesday an advanced ion therapy center for the first time in West Asia, which will provide definitive treatment for all types of cancer by the next year. With the aim of definite treatment of cancer using radiation with a synchrotron system, the center was designed in 2016 and its construction started in 2019. 7/29/21

Iran recorded over 34,900 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, setting the nation's single-day record for cases as vaccinations lag, public complacency deepens and the country's outbreak spirals further out of control. The previous record of 31,814 infections had been set only a day earlier, providing a sense of how quickly Iran's latest surge, fueled by the contagious delta variant, is mounting. -AP 7/27/21

MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hasan asked why the United States continues to sanction Iran despite a surge in coronavirus cases in the country. As of Sunday, the seven-day average of coronavirus cases in Iran is 24,024, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering. During The Mehdi Hasan Show on Sunday the host asked U.S. Special Representative for Iran Robert Malley about "the humanitarian situation in Iran." -Mediaite 7/27/21

Iran on Tuesday broke another record in the country's daily new coronavirus cases, even as Tehran and its surroundings went into lockdown, a week-long measure imposed amid another surge in the pandemic. The country's health ministry announced 27,444 new cases and 250 deaths over the past day, bringing the overall death toll to 87,624 from among more than 3.5 million confirmed cases in the pandemic. -AP 7/20/21

Iranians facing a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines at home are travelling to neighbouring Armenia as tourists in growing numbers to get inoculated there for free, according to data from Armenia's tourism board. Armenia has approved three vaccines against COVID-19 - Russia's Sputnik V, China's CoronaVac and AstraZeneca's vaccine and initially offered all of them free to foreign visitors. -Reuters 7/20/21

Iran on Monday imposed a week-long lockdown on the capital, Tehran, and the surrounding region as the country struggles with another surge in the coronavirus pandemic, state media reported. The lockdown - the nation's fifth so far - will begin on Tuesday and last until next Monday. All bazars, market places and public offices will close, as well as movie theaters, gyms and restaurants in both Tehran province and the neighboring province of Alborz. -AP 7/19/21

Recent cases of COVID-19 in the women's ward of the Evin Prison in Tehran spotlight a lack of preventative measures and the precarious situation of political detainees in the country. Dozens of Iranian cities, including the capital, Tehran, are currently designated as "red zones" as they battle a spike in COVID-19 infections. -DW 7/15/21

Between April 1990 to October 1999, a doctor working in Kermanshah, a city in the Kurdish region of Iran, documented 172 cases of penile fractures, as reported in a 2000 case study in the Journal of Urology. What could possibly explain this unlikely outburst of penis fractures, you're no doubt wondering? Well, brace yourself. -IFL Science 7/15/21

Reza's type 2 diabetes has always worried him, but raging COVID-19 has become another source of distress alongside the difficulties of acquiring the drugs he needs for survival. Since the U.S. sanctions have been affecting Iran's import of medicine from abroad, getting the everyday insulin shots has increasingly become a troublesome issue for Reza, who only wanted to be identified by his surname. -Xinhua 7/12/21

Iran's health officials dismissed several statements about a "US sabotage attack" or halts in the country's indigenous vaccine projects. "The production line of COV-Iran Barakat is operating with full capacity," read a statement issued by the state-funded Shifapharmed Industrial Group, which is involved in the production of one in a long list of vaccines Iran says it has developed to immunize its population against multiple variants of the coronavirus. -Al-Monitor 7/9/21

Quarantine, one of the most effective protection measures, plays an essential role in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, along with quarantine, can have devastating consequences for individuals' mental and social health. This study examined the psychosocial status of individuals during and after quarantine in the COVID-19 pandemic. -Mohammad A. Zakeri, et al, Journal of Community Psychology 7/9/21

Iran is at risk of the fifth wave of the pandemic as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads all over the country. The National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control started strict restrictions for two weeks as of Sunday (July 4) in 92 cities that have the highest rate of infection in the country. Shopping malls, gyms, mosques, salons, universities, schools, libraries, kindergartens, cinemas, museums, cafes, zoos, and amusement parks will be closed for two weeks. -Tehran Times 7/5/21

Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, has expressed fears that Iran will be hit by a new wave of Covid-19 due to an outbreak of the Delta variant in the Middle East's hardest-hit country. Covid-19 has killed more than 84,000 people out of over 3.2 million infections in Iran, according to official figures that authorities admit do not account for all cases. -Guardian 7/5/21

According to a statement by the Iranian Health Ministry on Friday, 13,836 new COVID-19 cases were recorded across the country in the past 24 hours since yesterday, while 127 Iranians lost their lives due to the disease. 7/2/21

The Pastu Covac vaccine, developed by the Pasteur Institute of Iran, has received an emergency use license, Health Minister Saeed Namaki said on Wednesday. In the third clinical trial phase, the vaccine has been injected into 44,000 volunteers in Cuba and 25,000 volunteers in Iran, he added. 6/30/21

First remote surgery in Iran was performed using 100% homegrown system in Iran Advanced Clinical Skills Training Center based in Imam Khomeini (RA) and Sina hospitals of Tehran. The surgery was performed on a dog (vasectomy operation) by Dr. Talebpour at Sina Hospital of Tehran. 6/29/21

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei has received a dose of the country's first locally developed COVID-19 vaccine. Khamenei on Friday called the development of the vaccine a point of "national pride". -Al-Jazeera 6/25/21

Iran's health officials said multiple variants of the COVID-19 virus are raging across four southern provinces up to 50% faster than two weeks ago. The rates have now placed much of the country's impoverished southern and southeastern strip in the country's "red" infection zone. Iran's health minister has already warned that the "stubborn" nature of Indian and South African mutations identified in various locations nationwide could further complicate the country's pandemic control policies. -Al-Monitor 6/23/21

Iranian authorities say they have given emergency approval for a domestically developed vaccine against COVID-19 as the country battles the Middle East's deadliest coronavirus outbreak. Health Minister Saeed Namaki told a press conference on June 14 that permission for the emergency use of the vaccine called COVIran Barekat was issued the previous day. 6/15/21

Planning interventions to promote food and nutrition literacy (FNL) require a better understanding of the FNL status of the target group and its correlates. This study aimed to examine the FNL status and its determinants in Iranian senior high-school students. -Marziyeh Ashoori, et al, BMC Neutrition 6/7/21

Iran's health officials said June 1 that a far-reaching coronavirus vaccination program will start in September. The statement was last in a series of unfulfilled promises with varying dates for a much-needed vaccination plan covering all members of the public. According to the spokesman for Iran's National Coronavirus Task Force the public phase will kick off once several designated high-risk groups have received their two jabs. The program, he said, will continue until the end of 2021. -Al Monitor 6/2/21

The second and third phases of clinical studies of the Iranian-Australian Spicogen vaccine for coronavirus will be performed in Iran, Iranian Food and Drug Administration spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said. The first phase of the clinical trial was performed on volunteer Australians and the two next phases will be administrated to 400 Iranians, he stated. 6/1/21

After the United States under former president Donald Trump withdrew from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, Molnlycke stopped exporting the Mepilix product to Iran... According to The Hague-based Iranian Centre for International Criminal Law (ICICL), nearly 30 Iranian EB patients - mostly children - have died since Molnlycke stopped selling its dressings to Iran. For EB survivors, the pain has increased by 70 percent. -Al-Jazeera 5/28/21

Iran is opening a fertility research center in Algeria. The move is part of a yearslong warming of ties between the Islamic Republic and the North African country. The Royan Institute, which studies male and female infertility, embryo development and stem cells, will open a branch in Algeria, the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported on Tuesday. 5/26/21

Iranian physician, Seyed Nasser Emadi Cheshmi, has won the Florence Nightingale Medal 2021, which recognizes exceptional courage and devotion to victims of armed conflict or natural disaster. Emadi Cheshmi is a volunteer physician and a member of MSF (Doctors Without Borders) teams in Africa and West Asian countries, who was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal in the 48th edition of the event. 5/25/21

It wasn't only family members but others in his hometown who took pride in Omid Tonekaboni's acceptance to medical school. Doctors are an exalted group in Iran, where two of the most watched TV shows when Tonekaboni was a boy had physicians for protagonists, and where "Sina" remains one of the most popular names for babies today, after the legendary Ibn Sina, a philosopher and doctor in ancient Persia. -Omid Khazani, LA Times 5/24/21

Iranian parliamentarian Mohsen Dehnavi has alleged that based on the Health Ministry's database, some 200,000 doses of imported vaccines are unaccounted for. Dehnavi, who is a member of the parliament's presiding board, added that his inquiry to the Iranian health minister regarding the missing vaccines remains unanswered. He promised that the parliament will investigate the matter. -Al Monitor 5/14/21

Despite having been pregnant for three months, Maliha Gharib Shah still worked on the frontline against COVID-19 on Wednesday, when people across the world were marking the International Nurses Day. As the coronavirus continues to run rampant through Iran, Shah, a nurse at the heart ward of Imam Hossein Hospital in Tehran, said, "I have to help my colleagues tide over these trying times." -Gao Wencheng, Xinhua 5/13/21

Iranian health officials are warning the number of COVID-19 fatalities is expected to climb in the coming weeks as the country recorded its highest single-day death toll from the pandemic. Health Ministry data showed the death toll from the virus increased by 496 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths from the virus to 70,070. The country also recorded 21,026 more confirmed infections, bringing the total to over 2.4 million cases. 4/27/21

Iran started on Monday the third phase of the human trial of the Soberana-02 coronavirus vaccine, jointly developed with Cuba. Manufactured by Cuba's Finlay Vaccine Institute and Pasteur Institute of Iran, the vaccine is a conjugate vaccine with two injectable doses. It consists of the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein conjugated chemically to tetanus toxoid, IRIB reported. 4/26/21

s Iran faces what looks like its worst wave of the coronavirus pandemic yet, Tehran commuters still pour into its subway system and buses each working day, even as images of the gasping ill are repeatedly shown on state television every night. After facing criticism for downplaying the virus last year, Iranian authorities have put partial lockdowns and other measures back in place to try and slow the virus' spread. -AP 4/22/21

Iran is currently producing COVID-19 vaccines jointly with three countries of Cuba, Russia, and Australia, Mostafa Qanei, secretary of the biotechnology development office of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, said on Monday. One of the vaccines is the Cuban-Iranian Soberana-02 vaccine, and the other is the Russian-Iranian Gamaleya vaccine, he explained. 4/20/21

Iran's daily coronavirus death toll climbed over 400 for the first time in months on Sunday, as the country, which has long had the region's largest outbreak, battles a post-holiday infection surge. Iranian health authorities recorded 405 fatalities from the virus, pushing the total death toll to 66,732. -AP 4/19/21

Iran's ambassador to Moscow says Tehran has signed a contract with Russia to purchase 60 million doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. Kazem Jalali told the state-run IRNA news agency on April 15 that the deal with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, would provide enough shots to fully vaccinate 30 million people. 4/16/21

The new coronavirus is killing one person every four minutes in Iran, state TV reported on Thursday, a death rate authorities said was sure to quicken if Iranians continue to fail to adhere to health protocols. "This week is worse than the previous week. The situation will be much worse next week and we have very difficult days ahead," Health Minister Saeed Namaki was quoted by state media as saying. -Reuters 4/16/21

Iran reported 258 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday, the highest daily toll since early December. That brings the total number of fatalities from the coronavirus to 64,490 in Iran, the worst-hit country in the Middle East. -Reuters 4/12/21

Iran hit a new coronavirus infection record on Thursday for the third straight day, reporting 22,586 new cases as the country grapples with a severe spike following the Persian New Year holiday. The new case count pushes Iran's total during the pandemic over 2 million, including 63,884 deaths after health authorities reported 185 new daily fatalities due to COVID-19. -AP 4/8/21

Iran has set a new daily record for new coronavirus infections amid a surge of cases following the Norouz holiday. The Health Ministry said on April 7 that in the previous 24 hours, 20,954 new cases had been reported, breaking the record set a day earlier of 17,430 infections. 4/7/21

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect refugees and host communities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is ensuring that another 20,000 refugees can access the country's national health insurance scheme, taking the numbers assisted with health insurance to 120,000. -Reliefweb 4/6/21

Some 700,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine have been delivered to Iran as part of its purchase of millions of doses through the World Health Organization's COVAX initiative. As confirmed by an Iranian official and the United Nations' UNICEF, which handled delivery, the first shipment landed in Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport Monday night and included 700,800 doses of the vaccine. -Al Jazeera 4/6/21

To prevent the spread of coronavirus, and by order of Coronavirus Prevention and Combat Headquarters, authorities closed all parks and public places in Iran on April 2 and imposed severe penalties for picnicking. However, desite the official orders and warnings, Iranians across the country gathered outdoors on Friday to celebrate Sizdah-Bedar, the traditional Persian festival of nature. 4/2/21

Iran said on Tuesday a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic had taken hold in western and central areas of the country, triggered by widespread travel and celebrations during the current Iranian New Year holidays. "A fourth coronavirus wave has definitely begun in many parts of the west and centre of the country and is advancing towards the east," Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state television. -Reuters 3/31/21

Iranian authorities yesterday announced that they have not been able to secure the nearly three million doses of the Russian-made COVID-19 vaccines before the Persian New Year, Nowruz, as promised. "We have not been able to fulfil our promise to secure 2.8 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by March 21," Ministry of Health spokesman, Kianush Jahanpour, said. -Middle East Monitor 3/26/21

Younan Nowzaradan, popularly known as Dr. Now, is a famous Iranian-American surgeon, TV star, and author of books about weight loss. Vascular surgery and bariatric surgery are where he specializes in. He became very popular in the United States after the hit TV show "My 600-lb life", where he helped morbidly obese people to lose enough weight to go to surgery. 3/24/21

Iran is boasting that its ability to make coronavirus vaccines exemplifies its self-sufficiency, with one top official comparing the feat to its ability to build missiles. "Just as we were forced to manufacture missiles ourselves, we produced a coronavirus vaccine," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on March 15, the semiofficial news agency ISNA reported. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE 3/17/21

Iran's campaign to inoculate its population against the coronavirus and promote itself as an emerging vaccine manufacturer inched on as health authorities announced Tuesday that the country's third homegrown vaccine has reached the phase of clinical trials. Details about its production, however, remained slim. -AP 3/16/21